Mercury Rising Timeline
7,000 BC * The universe is spoken into existence by God in seven days, and the fall of man from grace occurs. 5000 BC * The greatest polar shift of Earth in history takes place, with the crust shifting by several thousand miles. The Genesis Flood also occurs during this period. The supercontinent of Pangaea breaks up as a result of the extreme crustal stresses and the continents move to within a few miles of their present day positions. The North Pole is relocated from near where modern Central America is located, and the South Pole was relocated from near where modern central Australia is located. 107 AD * The Tikal Chamber is completed in the Mayan capital city of Tikal, in the future country of Guatemala. The chamber was originally built by the Mayans as a tomb for kings, but was eventually taken over by the Spaniards during their arrival in 1541. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) 1541 * The Spaniards take over the Mayan capital of Tikal, including the Tikal Chamber. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) 1885 1912 * April 12 to 15 - William Lynch's father, Josiah Lynch and his wife, Nancy, board the Titanic in Southampton, and manage to survive the sinking on the morning of the 15th. 1943 * July 1 - Joe Lomax is born to John and Laura Lomax in New York City, the first of his parents' two children. 1954 * (Date Here) - Martin Lynch is born in Chicago to William and Martha Lynch. 1955 * October 17 - Art Jeffries is born in Chicago, the first of his parents' only two children. (Mercury Rising: Countdown) * (Date Here) - Jenny Simmons, later Jenny Lynch, is born to George and Edwina Simmons in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. * (Date Here) - Jack Nichols is born to Jason and Laura Nichols in Columbus, Ohio. 1960 * July 18 - Tommy Jordan is born in Springfield, Illinois, the first of three children in his family. (S3 - Is it Finally Over?) 1966 * June 11 - Stacey Siebring is born in Des Moines, Iowa, her parents' only child. (Mercury Rising: Shockwave) 1978 * June 19 - Amber Lynch is born at Concordia General, the first of Martin and Jenny's children, and the first to go insane. 1982 * March 13 - Peter Burrell is presumed dead in Beirut, while serving with US Special Forces. (Mercury Rising) 1985 * May 22 - Peter Lynch is born at Concordia General, the last of only four births in the hospital that day. (S1 - Long Lost) 1989 * March 12 - Simon Lynch is born at 6:07 a.m. at Concordia General, Martin and Jenny Lynch's last child. (S1 - Nerd or Hacker?) 1992 * August 29 - Peter Lynch goes insane, nearly killing Simon and running away from home, only 7 years old at the time. (S1 - Long Lost) 1993 * August 11 - The Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle is completed amongst much fanfare, retaining Chicago's title of containing the tallest building in the world, surpassing the Sears Tower in height by over 550 feet (not counting antennas/masts), and the future Petronas Towers by nearly 600 feet. 1995 1996 * July 8 - Construction begins on 7 South Dearborn in Chicago, Illinois. It was completed in June 2000, when workers finished installation of the 433 foot-high antenna on the roof. (S3 - Whirlwind of Death) 1997 1998 * March 21 - An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale occurs in Iran, the shockwaves from which rupture major oil fields in Kuwait and northeastern Saudi Arabia, causing a minor oil crisis, as the Saudis declare that the outside world will not get any oil until they receive aid before Iran does, creating the 1998 Mid-East Oil Crisis. (Mercury Rising: 9/11) * April 9 - An F5 tornado passes near Nashville, Tennessee, killing over a hundred and wounding many others. (S3 - Whirlwind of Death) * May 30 - Yet another earthquake occurs in Iran, this one magnitude 6.9. The shockwaves only cause minor damage throughout the country, killing few. (S6 - Hierarchy) * June 6 to 12 - Nine year-old Simon Lynch deciphers the original Mercury code, and is hunted down by NSA's Nicholas Kudrow, but is protected by Chicago FBI's Art Jeffries. The conflict finally comes to head, after Simon's parents, Martin and Jenny are murdered by Kudrow's main hit-man, Peter Burrell, with Dean Crandell and Leo Pedranski also meeting the same fate. The resolution comes in the form of a confronatation atop the city's IBM Building, in which Kudrow and Burrell are killed by Jeffries and an FBI SWAT team led by Tommy Jordan. (Mercury Rising) * August 8 - German Mob boss Karl Decker is captured by the FBI after a shootout at his stronghold in the Des Moines outskirts, resulting in the deaths of all his men except Jason Kreuger, who escapes and plans revenge. The FBI suffers only three casualties in the shootout, out of over thirty men. (Mercury Rising: Occupation) 1999 * February 27 - Art Jeffries meets Peter Lynch for the first time, and Simon is nearly kidnapped by Peter when he breaks into Jeffries apartment at 178 Jackson Street. Later, Peter is captured by two CPD officers after attempting to kidnap Simon at Jeffries apartment, but is captured by Jeffries and Tommy Jordan. Near the end of the day, Jeffries and Simon receive a message from Peter, who wants them to meet him at the intersection of Averhill and 5th Street in one of the more run-down areas of the city. Simon is injured by a pellet from a shotgun blast, and begins bleeding badly, forcing Jeffries to carry him to his truck. While attempting to flee, Peter uses a bazooka stolen from a US Army truck that he raided earlier in the day on Jeffries truck, but the first shot misses and destroys an old house, while the second hits an old natural gas line beneath the street, detonating it, nearly killing Jeffries and Simon. (S1 - ''Long Lost'') * February 28 - Hurricane Arlene strikes the Florida peninsula near Jupiter Island, where 1992's Hurricane Andrew made landfall at Category 5 strength as well. (S1 - Nerd or Hacker?) * March 1 - Hurricane Arlene strikes the western portion of the Mississippi River Delta, killing nearly twenty total. The outer rainbands cause gusts of up to 107 mph in New Orleans, and nearly 70 mph in Baton Rouge. (S1 - Nerd or Hacker?) * March 3 - A 5.1 earthquake hits Chicago at 1:20 PM, and the 1999 Chicago blackout occurs at 6:12 PM when Simon Lynch accidentally shuts down the city power grid after hacking into it. (S1 - Nerd or Hacker?) * March 19 - Over two weeks after Hurricane Arlene strikes Florida, damage is estimated to be almost as bad as Hurricane Andrew, nearly $25 billion, with over one-hundred-fifty casualties reported in total. (S1 - Nerd or Hacker?) 2000 * July 29 - The US Army's research division makes a major breakthrough in nanotechnology when they successfully use nanites from their Project SIMON to cure a medical patient of cancer. 2001 2002 * October 4 - A magnitude 7.0+ earthquake swarm occurs in the Long Valley Caldera of Eastern California, a signal of events to come. (S6 - Fires of Death, Part 1) * October 8 - The USGS detects a 4.7 foot uplift of the Long Valley Caldera floor, and raises the Long Valley alert level to yellow. (S6 - Fires of Death, Part 1) * October 9 - USGS announces the caldera uplift in Long Valley has reached 9.9 feet, and raises the alert level first to orange, then red after several hydrothermal eruptions occur within the caldera and along the Mono-Inyo Volcanic Chain. Evacuations of the Inyo National Park begin. (S6 - Fires of Death, Part 1) * October 10 - The main evacuation of Inyo National Park is complete, while the caldera uplift in Long Valley reaches 9.2 feet, and several large fissures crisscross the caldera floor, bisecting both US HWY 395 and the local airport. (S6 - Fires of Death, Part 1) * October 11 - The Long Valley Caldera erupts, sending ashfall as far as Los Angeles, San Franciso, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Reno. (S6 - Fires of Death, Part 2) 2003 * November 6 - The Great Bombardment of 2003 begins with the detection of multiple asteroid fragments nearing the earth's atmosphere. (Mercury Rising: Doomsday) * December 3 - The Great Bombardment of 2003 ends when fourteen year-old Simon Lynch hacks into the US missile control systems, and launches a specially designed nuclear warhead that deflects, and breaks off fragments of the asteroid responsible for the bombardment, (later named) W2144-2003 Lynch, thereby averting the total annihilation of the human race. (Mercury Rising: Doomsday) 2004 2005 2006 * July 18 - The Chicago World Trade Center is completed amongst the many Post-2003 Reconstruction Period buildings in Chicago, and all across the globe. Tower 1 of the complex surpasses the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle as the tallest building in the world (2500 feet), and Tower 2 ties the future Chicago Spire as the second tallest building in the world at the time (2300 feet). 2007 2008 2009 2010 * May 13 - The 2010-2011 Mediterranean crisis begins shortly after Simon Lynch is notified of Karl Decker's survival of the USAF's airstrike on the Sears Tower that occured on November 21, 2009. (Mercury Rising: Mediterranean Unrest) * May 14 - The French Navy aircraft carrier Charles DeGaulle is sunk near the Strait of Gibraltar by the hijacked Russian submarine Zemlya, all hands lost. (Mercury Rising: Mediterranean Unrest) * May 15 to December 31 - The Mediterranean crisis continues to escalate, with battles between NATO and Atlantropa Alliance (AA) forces occuring all across the basin, with EU forces evacuating Sardinia and Sicily, as well as the coasts of France, Spain, Italy, and Greece. (Mercury Rising: Mediterranean Unrest, Mercury Rising: Mediterranean Incursion) 2011 * January 1 to May 4 - The Mediterranean Incursion War takes place between the US military, with NATO and EU forces aiding, and the Atlantropa Alliance, under the command of Karl Decker and Jason Kreuger. (Mercury Rising: Mediterranean Incursion, Mercury Rising: Mediterranean Uprising) * July 18 - After three years of construction, the Chicago Spire is completed, and at 2300 feet high, equals the height of Tower 2 of the Chicago WTC. (Mercury Rising: Mediterranean Uprising) * July 29 - Simon Lynch, with aid of his fellow colleagues at NASA-JPL, discovers that the dwarf planet Ceres' orbit around the Sun was destabilized in 2003, and may be on a collision course with Earth. (Mercury Rising 2: Final Stand) * August 7 - A small rogue fragment of Ceres enters the atmosphere over Washington D.C., and is destroyed by a railgun fired from the USS Spruance. (Mercury Rising 2: Final Stand) * September 11 - The United States solemnly commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Al-Qaeda attacks on the WTC in New York and the Pentagon in D.C. The new WTC Memorial, the first section of the new WTC, is opened amid 9 minutes and 11 seconds of silence before it is revealed to the public for the first time. (Mercury Rising 2: Final Stand) 2012 * January 17 - The world learns that the oil reserves in the Middle East are near depletion, causing all nations in the region, as well as western countries to fight over the remaining oil. US and NATO troops also lock down recently discovered oil reserves in central Venezuela. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * March 10 - A 6.7 earthquake occurs in Tikal, Guatemala, the former capital of the Mayan Empire, while Simon Lynch and his brother Peter, son Joseph, and brother Simon are on a tour of the city with several others. The earthquake exposes a large chamber, hidden since after its completion in 107 AD. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * March 12 - A 6.3 earthquake occurs in Chicago, Illinois, around midnight, killing forty-six and injuring about a hundred when a small skyscraper under construction collapses in the downtown area. Damage otherwise is mainly restricted to broken windows and plaster, as well as surface cracks and minor structural damage to homes across the entire metro area. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * March 15 to 21 - A Category 4 hurricane forms from a tropical storm in the South Atlantic in 35 hours, and slams ashore in Rio de Janeiro on the 19th, killing over seven thousand in the tidal surge alone, with total damage estimates nearly reaching $27 billion by May 2. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * March 22 - The Freedom Tower in New York City is topped out at 1,776 feet, with completion scheduled for August and opening for September 11, eleven years after the attacks on the original WTC. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising: 9/11) * April 2 - The largest artificial island ever created is finished off the Southern California coastline, and is named Linchar Island. Linchar City and a coinciding airport begin construction about three months later. To counter significant earthquakes in the region, an advanced seismic resistance program was undertaken by the US Army Corps of Engineers, who also installed large mass dampers in all the island's large structures and skyscrapers. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * April 9 - US President Jonathan Tomson finally reveals the existence of the Mercury program to the world, as well as the story of Simon Lynch and the events surrounding the code. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * April 14 and 15 - People all over the world commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and Simon Lynch finally learns of Josiah and Nancy Lynch's existence and their survival of the sinking. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * May 13 - A 7.0 earthquake occurs in Reno, Nevada, around 8:48 A.M., killing one thousand forty-eight and injuring several hundred when the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino in downtown Reno collapses, covering the city in a dust cloud for several hours. City Hall, the Reno Events Center, and St. Mary's Regional Hospital also suffer heavy damage. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * May 29 - The largest aftershock of the Reno earthquake occurs, rated magnitude 6.3. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * June 1 - Around 1:19 a.m., a terrorist working for Al-Qaeda detonates a tactical nuclear device on Interstate 70 in Sevier County, Utah, killing forty-four and irradiating over a hundred-square miles of the state. The mushroom cloud is visible from Salt Lake City for slightly over eighteen hours. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * June 29 - The 3rd largest earthquake in recorded history occurs, as a 9.7 earthquake nearly destroys the city of Las Vegas. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * July 4 - The first underwater supervolcanic eruption in recorded history occurs in the Atlantic Ocean at a point over a thousand miles east of Bermuda, sending superheated water vapor and steam miles into the atmosphere for thousands of miles in all directions, providing fuel for the nearby Tropical Storm Gordon to grow into the largest and most ferocious tropical cyclone in recorded history. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * July 5 to 7 - Tropical Storm Gordon strengthens from a tropical storm to a Category 6 hurricane in forty-eight hours, becoming the strongest and largest tropical cyclone ever recorded on earth. On July 7, it becomes a Category 7 hypercane, the first officially recognized storm of its kind in recorded history. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * July 9 - Hypercane Gordon slams ashore in Plymouth, England, with winds topping 300 mph. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * July 18 - An 8.2 earthquake strikes Japan, causing severe damage throughout the entire country, especially near the epicenter in Tokyo, where much of the city is completely leveled, and portions of the coastline sink underwater forever, as Tokyo Bay rises nearly 37 feet within hours. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * July 26 - Puerto Rico votes to join the United States as the 51st state, narrowly passing in a vote of 87 - 81. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * August 5 - The Freedom Tower in NYC is completed, with the opening ceremony still scheduled for September 11. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * August 9 - The 2nd largest earthquake in recorded history occurs, as a 10.2 earthquake occurs along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, creating a 270 foot high tsunami that inundates and destroys several large towns along the US and Canadian West Coasts. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * August 11 - A 7.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Cardiff, England, and completely levels the city. It also causes severe damage in London and Dover as well, with the Thames Barrier nearly collapsing under the seismic onslaught, later leading to a partial flooding of London. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * August 16 - In New York City, the 125th Street Fault ruptures, unleashing a 6.3 earthquake on the city, which is quite ill prepared for such an event. Several of the skyscrapers of Battery Park, vulnerable to soil liquefaction, partially collapse, with several of the cables that support the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges failing as well, though the bridges themselves remain intact. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * August 17 - A 6.2 earthquake strikes Boston, causing heavy damage to the Prudential Center, the John Hancock Tower, and the Old North Church. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * September 11 - In NYC, the Freedom Tower is dedicated and opened amid solemn remembrance of the attacks in 2001. Somehow, the tower was almost totally undamaged by August's quake. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * September 15 - US Army Satellite A-89521 collides with Space Station Prometheus over North America, destroying it completely. No one was killed, as the station was unmanned at the time. The collision is deemed an accident. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * September 19 - The Dabbahu Volcano in Northeastern Ethiopia erupts, rupturing the Dabbahu Fissure with an 11.0 earthquake that creates the Ethiopian Sea, as well as the island of Eritrea-Dijbouti. The rupture's effects also sink portions of western Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia beneath the Red Sea, destroying the Yemenese capital of Sana'a. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * October 30 - A swarm of earthquakes, (the largest being 7.4) occur under the Point Reyes area in California northwest of San Francisco, creating a fracture that splits the peninsula from the mainland, creating Point Reyes Island. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * November 7 - A magma uplift is detected beneath Reno after yet another earthquake swarm, forcing the evacuation of the city. Mount Reno is formed from the succeeding eruption, which destroys the city forever. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * November 14 - A 9.4 earthquake occurs in the Indian Ocean, unleashing another tsunami, similar in power to, but slightly larger than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, though far less people die than in 2004. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * November 23 - The volcano that formed Bermuda, thought to be extinct for thousands of years, erupts catastrophically, killing the 72,000 people who inhabit the island. The eruption forces a redirect of transatlantic flights and shipping, severely disrupting commerce and travel for days. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * November 25 - An 8.9 earthquake occurs in Hilo, Hawaii, killing thousands in the quake itself, and the succeeding ninety-five foot tsunami which erases 91% the city from existence. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * December 12 - Valles Caldera in New Mexico begins showing signs of unrest after thousands of years of slumber. An eruption nearly equivalent to the 2002 eruption of the Long Valley Caldera occurs around 11:47 PM, killing thousands in the resulting ash cloud and pyroclastic flow, which also disrupts major commercial air routes. Ashfall by about an inch reaches as far as Santa Fe and Phoenix, and about a centimeter is reported as far away as Oklahoma City and Dallas-Ft. Worth. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * December 14 - A 7.7 earthquake occurs in Franklin County, Ohio, causing major destruction throughout the region, killing over one hundred-fifty five thousand, and resulting in the complete destruction of the state capital of Columbus. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * December 17 - After a series of large earthquake swarms, more than 50% of the volcanoes in West Antarctica erupt, destabilizing nearly half of the West Antarctic ice sheet, causing a global sea level rise of 5 meters, thereby forcing a major relocation of coastal populations all across the planet. (Mercury Rising: 2012) * December 20 to 21 - In the race to stop the pole shift, NASA launches dormant Project SIMON nanites into space, aboard the Shuttle Yorktown, in an attempt to block the excess radiation from Sol. The plan succeeds in preventing a major pole shift, with the crust only moving by 214.4 miles to the southwest. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * December 31 - Celebrations take place across the globe, not only for New Years Eve, but for the continued existence of the human race. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) 2013 * January 1 - The world begins rebuilding from the series of 2012 disasters, the recovery of which will take years. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * February 7 - Construction of Kuwait's Mubarak al-Kabir begins in Madinat al-Hareer, Kuwait. It later becomes the first building on Earth to reach over 1 kilometer in height when completed in 2016. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * March 12 - On the first anniversary of the 2012 Chicago earthquake, groundbreaking for Frank Lloyd Wright's mile-high The Illinois, heavily modernized, occurs. The massive sway that the building would experience from winds is offset by a series of three tuned mass dampers installed on the 150th, 350th, and 500th floors; and the dampers, nearly 1000 lbs. each, are also designed to offset potential earthquake activity from the Chicago Fault. (Mercury Rising: 2012, Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * April 2 - Construction of the Bering Strait Bridge begins, one of the last major links in the Global Highway System. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * April 16 - In Indonesia, construction begins on the Sunda Strait Bridge, which will also one day become a link in the Global Highway System (GHS). (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * May 7 - In both Germany and Denmark, construction crews begin construction of the Fehmarn Belt Bridge across the Fehmarn Belt of the Baltic Sea, eventually cutting rail travel time between Hamburg and Copenhagen by nearly 5 hours by 2018. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) * June 21 - Mexico officially dissolves its government and is merged with the United States, nearly doubling the size of the country and giving it 83 states. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) 2014 2015 2016 * January 20 - Construction of the Mubarak al-Kabir in Kuwait is completed, becoming the first human skyscraper to exceed 1 kilometer in height. It remains the tallest in world until the completion of The Illinois in 2017. 2017 * May 23 - The Illinois in Chicago is completed amongst much fanfare, celebrating its completion as the first mile-high skyscraper in the world, paving the way for a new generation of skyscrapers to come. (Mercury Rising 3: Full Circle) 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 * January 10 to 24 - The 24th Winter Olympic Games occur in Denver, Colorado. * July 18 - Construction of the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid in Tokyo Bay begins, part of the massive reconstruction of Tokyo after its devastating 8.2 earthquake in 2012. 2028 * June 17 to 30 - The 34th Summer Olympic Games occur at a point midway between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. This is the first time that multiple cities are selected to host Olympic Games. It is also a second for Vancouver, after hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. 2030 * September 11 - The long overdue "Big One" occurs in California, reaching 8.3 on the Richter scale. The quake only minorly damages buildings throughout the state, including a portion of the 110-story JR Williams Tower in San Francisco. All buildings in California had been upgraded with carbon-nanotube materials, thereby minimizing damage to the major structures. 2052 * The 40th Summer Olympics occur in Chicago, Illinois, their second, after hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics. 2079 * May 2 to 30 - Discovery is made of non-human skeletal remains in the Tharsis Region of Mars, and the human colony of McAuliffe City is evacuated when a deadly, unknown virus spreads after the remains are discovered. (Mercury Rising: The Martian Paradox) 2092 * The 50th Summer Olympic Games are held in New York City, their second, after hosting the 2066 Winter Games. 2132 * June 4 to 18 - The 60th Summer Olympic Games are held in Nairobi, Kenya, which had by that time grown as prosperous as the mid-21st century United States. 2134 2138 2172 2202 2242 2282 * July 8 to 22 - The 100th Summer Olympic Games are held in Athens, Greece, on Earth, in honor of the original, ancient Olympic Games. * September 17 - Satellites belonging to the United Earth Space Agency (UESA) in orbit around Saturn and Uranus, detect a planetary collision in the star system of 82 Eridani. 5612 * A pole shift of Earth occurs on December 21, causing widespread damage, though human technology is significantly advanced enough at this period in history that the actual damage is minimal, and zero deaths occur. 9212 10,000 AD 12,144 AD * After over seventeen millenia of subsidence, Washington D.C., capital of the still existing United States of America, finally falls below sea level, and its population of 76 million is evacuated. The US capital is then moved to Richmond, where it remains for nearly eight-thousand years. 20,012 AD * March 12 to December 20 - On the planet Nimrod in orbit of the red giant star Omega Eridani, the greatest land battle in history occurs. The battle quickly expands to kill more than twenty billion across the system. * December 21 - The universe is ended by God as the final part of the judgement of humankind. See also * Post-2012 Reconstruction Period * List of 2012 disasters * 2012 earthquakes * 2000's earthquakes * Earthquakes of the 20th Century * List of Earth's tallest structures (2551 BC - 2179 AD) Category:Years Category:Future Category:Dates Category:Mercury Rising Continuity